Brooklyn Nets Probable Starters (5-3)

Three questions to ponder

1. What changes will we see to the Kings’ starting lineup?

Keith Smart reaffirmed following practice yesterday that there will be some changes to his starting five. There are numerous possibilities. Tyreke Evans could slide back to small forward, meaning James Johnson becomes a reserve in favor of perhaps Marcus Thornton. Chuck Hayes could take over the starting power forward spot and Jason Thompson‘s low-post scoring punch and rebounding could come off the bench. We don’t know and we won’t know until tip-off.

2. Can we expect a tighter Kings’ rotation?

According to Smart, no. The Kings head coach will continue to go deep into his bench today. However, the ninth and 10th guys off of it will probably see the fewest minutes on the court. There have been some who’ve suggested that tightening the rotation could help build consistency among the core players, but Smart remains resolute that the talent on this team merits diving deep into his bench.

3. Do the Kings continue let their offensive struggles dictate their play on the defensive end?

The Kings have slipped into the bottom half in defensive rating on both Basketball=Reference and NBA.com’s advanced metric databases. Smart and his players have both suggested that they’ve slipped defensively because they’ve let their shooting woes get to them. They were competitive in their first six contests because of their defense. Can they regain that mindset against the Nets later today?

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Founded in 2009, Cowbell Kingdom is a member of the ESPN TrueHoop Network. Its goal is to provide frontline, on-the-ground coverage of the Kings that leads to interesting and thought-provoking discussion amongst readers.